There followed those well-known operations--the “drawing away of Nelson,” of which so much had been written. In substance, Napoleon quite understood the situation so far as Nelson was concerned. He understood that Nelson’s fleet did not watch Toulon closely. He understood that if Villeneuve came out from Toulon when Nelson was not close by, Nelson would blindly seek him, probably in the wrong direction. In this, and up to a certain point beyond, Napoleon was entirely correct. But he made one error. He regarded Nelson as a fool. In estimating Nelson to be easily outwitted he was not perhaps far wrong; but beyond that, he failed to understand the man with whom he had to deal. It was these qualities of Nelson that rendered any invasion hopeless. Nelson had seen enough to know that the fighting value of the enemy was small, and that for him to attack at all costs and all hazards meant no hazard to the result. With one single idea, to find the enemy and destroy him, he was just the one enemy for whom Napoleon’s genius had no answering move. Villeneuve got out of Toulon on January 20th. He cruised about, Nelson cruising elsewhere looking for him. Eventually, Villeneuve, damaged by a gale, returned to Toulon, whence he presently emerged again on March 29th, and sailed for the West Indies. Ten days after he had done so, Nelson learned that the French had passed Gibraltar on April 8th; but delayed by contrary winds and lack of information, the British fleet was a long way behind. As for Villeneuve, he picked up six Spaniards at Cadiz, and went to the West Indies with seventeen ships of the line. Nelson followed far behind with ten. He pressed on so hard, however, that he reached Barbadoes on June 4th, the same day that Villeneuve, not so very far away, left Martinique, where he had been lying. Therefrom, Nelson sailed south to Trinidad, off which he arrived at the same time as Villeneuve, sailing north, came off Antigua. On June 11th, Villeneuve (whose crews were already sick) set out to return to Europe. Two days later, Nelson, who had gone north again, followed suit. These hole and corner movements, impossible to-day, are not of much interest, save in so far as they indicate the certainty of information in these days and the uncertainty in those. The “decoyed away fleet” idea has nothing in it, because in any such scheme Villeneuve could surely either have doubled back when half-way, or in any case would not have remained in the West Indies. Nelson sent ahead fast frigates, with information that Villeneuve was returning; consequently arrangements for his reception were made. Off Finisterre, Villeneuve encountered Calder, and an indecisive action resulted. Two Spanish ships were captured. The following day, Villeneuve attempted to attack, but wind and weather prevented. On the third day the wind shifted, but Calder failed to attack. For this he was subsequently court-martialled and severely reprimanded.